Fading Soul
by DarkAngelTakara
Summary: FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! 5 REVIEWS TO CONTINUE! Sequel to TORTURED SOUL by DarkAngelTakara and hardly any Abraham  Sorry for the lateness! R&R! Rated M for a reason!
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary: Edward struggles to keep himself sane as he tries to recover from endless nights of cruelty. Alphonse knows there's many things his brother isn't telling him, and Alphonse tries to bring the old Edward to the surface—but can he bring Edward out of his fake world and into reality… the one that's out to kill him off for good?**

***Ed's Insanity Speaking: **_**It looks like this!***_

**HI PEOPLES!I'M BACK WITH THE SEQUEL OF TORTURED SOUL! YAAAAAAAY! I'm so friggin hyper! Sorry I late—my computer crashed and I lost the original chapter! I had to re-write it TT_TT!**

**Abe: Where the fuck u been at?**

**Me: Didn't I explain? **

**Abe: Yeah, but these poor motherfuckers have been waiting since—what, Tuesday?**

**Me: I sowy! So sowy! Blame my laptop! **

**Abe: U isn't worthy to finish this!**

**Me: I-I'll make it up to them! This'll be an interesting chapter!**

**Abe: It better be, lazy-ass.**

* * *

**~FADING SOUL~**

Edward opened both his eyes. His golden eyes stayed on the ceiling. He blinked and groggily let his head roll to the side. He couldn't move. Blurry memories flashed in his mind, and dread rose in his chest.

"Brother? Brother, you're awake!" Ed's eyes widened at the sound of Al's voice. He turned his head to the right, and sure enough, Al was standing there.

A strong feeling of guilt washed over Edward as he saw his brother. It was so strong that he choked on the words he was about to utter. A lump grew in his throat and his stomach tied itself in knots as it churned. He felt as if he were going to be sick, and wasn't so surprised when the bile came up in his throat.

Al saw the huge shudder run through Ed's body and immediately reached for the bucket they had kept beside the bed just in case. He put a huge hand behind his brother's back and quickly lifted Edward into a sitting position and looked away as Edward began to heave heavily into the bucket.

Edward thought his insides were spilling out of him. He held onto the rim of the bucket so his face wouldn't fall in. He opened his eyes for a second and saw blood mix in with whatever he was throwing up.

He felt like paper as he finally stopped hurling his insides out. Al slowly set his older brother down and laid the bucket onto the ground. He stared at his brother's thin form, ragged breaths sending shudders throughout Edward's body.

_Dammit… I can't believe I just did that in front of Al… _Ed never liked showing how weak he felt in front of his little brother. He was supposed to be taking care of Al's problem—not the other way around. He's not supposed to… not supposed to…

_**If you're supposed to take care of your brother, then why'd you force him into committing a taboo and let his body get taken from him? Some brother YOU are.**_

Edward swallowed at the lump in his throat. Another wave of guilt went through him, but he refused to acknowledge it for Al's sake.

"How long…?" The sound of his own voice frightened him. His voice came out hoarse and pitiful sounding, like the voice of a child that had gotten scolded for shaving the cat. His voice cracked, unused to speaking out loud.

"How long what, brother? What are you saying?" Al's voice was like music to Edward's ears. It felt like an eternity since he had heard the soft, soothing tone from his little brother.

"When… How long have I…been here?" His throat burned, so Ed had to make his sentences short as he forced air into his aching lungs. The air was so clean that it made him dizzy and extremely lightheaded. The room was beginning to spin, and he felt as if the temperature had dropped.

Al hesitated to answer. He knew his brother would be happy to know how much time he had spent in a hospital, knowing Ed's trypanophobia might take over. He always hated doctors and hospitals—but needles were the worst. He'd flip out.

"About… Two weeks…" Ed froze. _Two… WEEKS…? What the crap could they have done to me by now? Oh shit. Oh… SHIT. _They could have been on another mission by now! Nonono nonono!

Ed shook his head frantically not wanting to believe it. But it only resulted in a headache. _I've wasted so much time! _The room got colder, and Ed began to shiver uncontrollably. Strangely, he felt as if his insides were burning. His eyes wouldn't focus. _I shouldn't be getting worked up…! I gotta calm down! _Ed felt close to hysterics, and almost yelled out a few profanities. Luckily, he bit his tongue, so Al wouldn't hear him and give him a lecture on manners and rudeness.

Suddenly, he felt like singing. He felt hyper. Lightheaded. Loopy. Felt like running through the streets screaming at the top of his lungs 'I'M RAPING YOUR CHILDREN!' Ed didn't understand himself.

Al heard a giggle and saw his brother stifling a laugh. Ed didn't realize he was about to laugh when he felt it well up in his chest.

_**You're so funny! You make me laugh! You worry so much—and it makes me sick! Ahahahahahahahahaha! You're—you're so ****pathetic!**_

Anger filled inside of him, but Ed was slowly laughing. _What's so funny? Nothing is funny! _

_I really am losing my mind… this voice in my head… it's so fucking annoying. I can't take this stupid shit! Oh crap, what if Al thinks I'm being a fucking masochist or something? A sadist? _

_**He can't think any less of you than he does now. He knows you're lazy. He knows how idiotic you are. He knows how you love to rush into shit. He hates it when you put your life in danger. He hates you for leaving him alone for all these weeks. He hates you for killing your mother twice over. Face it, he already hates you enough.**_

Completely forgetting the fact that Alphonse was there, Ed curled up into a ball facing his brother, blank eyes staring right through everything. His stumps burned, but Ed was oblivious to the pain he was feeling. A small but audible whimper escaped his chapped lips.

_Shut. The fuck. UP. You're not a fucking mind-reader! _

**_Yet I can read yours_.**

_Shuddup! You're just trying to twist the words in my head! He'd never think that! At least, I don't think so…_

_**Ah, the uncertainty. I love it. The sweet, sweet feeling of melancholy rising up into your selfish little heart. So… pitiful. It just shows how terribly ****weak**_**_ you've become. You're too soft. How sad_.**

_How many times must I say it? SHUT UP! _Ed couldn't tell anymore what made him shake under the covers. The temperature that seemed to be getting colder? The anger he felt? Or was it the fear? He couldn't decide. The covers now felt damp with the sweat that coated Edward's small form. He wanted to sleep, but if he did he would fall back into the world of darkness that lingered in the back of his mind. His eyelids felt heavy and he couldn't help but feel like the voice in his head was still laughing at him.

Al stood there. His brother had stopped laughing. The way his brother was laughing had scared him. Like it was someone else who seemed to look like his brother. _Where are you nii-san? Where'd you go? I miss you so… _Al noticed his brother begin to act differently. He looked sick again. Ed's face was slightly red, like when he was mad at something, but tried miserably not to show it.

_Is he mad about being here so long? …or is he mad at me for letting the doctors keep him here? Oh brother… _Al kept his gaze on Edward, who seemed transfixed on something Al couldn't see. Ed's eyes darted around the room, not lingering on one object long enough for Al to make sense of what he was thinking. Ed's famous poker face was set, and when it came to taking it down, it was virtually impossible. Al stood silently, wondering if he should call for a doctor to have a look at Ed, just in case…

_**You're melancholy affects more than yourself, you know. It makes me feel rotten. Then again, I love that feeling. If I rot, you rot. It's a win-win for both of us! Whilst rotting to our deaths, we can both escape this chaos-your reality- and off into a place where you have nothing expecting more of you. Your reality, it's so strange. Your world, so full of hate and suffering. It's also strange how everything is ruled by mankind's greatest sins. So disgusting. You're all pitiful. None of you miserable souls have the strength to realize that ALL of you are already dying inside, yet you all strive to live, knowing that being able to live another day means that your death is only postponed. Some seek immortality, yet death is inevitable. Trying to play God… you're all sick. Especially YOU. Dragging your only little brother into committing the worst taboo of all… sick. **_

_**You fully knew what the consequences were going to be-how high the risks were- yet, you stroke to bring your mother back. You failed. You killed your little brother. You didn't care. You just wanted to see your mother. How selfish. But what you saw didn't bring you any satisfaction. So you brought your little brother Alphonse back onto the picture so you wouldn't suffer all alone in this world. How greedy-you wanted the happy family you'd never have- so you took your mother and brother away from a blissful place, just so you wouldn't be alone. You're no better than anyone who you've brought to justice. But all the good things you do will never make up for what you've done. You're bound to Hell~! How marvelous~!**_

"Shut…up…" Edward whimpered, his only hand wrapped around his head. The whispering lies that seemed more like broken truths… and it hurts again.

What he feared were slowly becoming realities in his head. All the words he'd said and what he hid from everyone else bundled up into a cluster-fuck in his head.

_All this pain…I want it to end…_

_**But in the end, you always want it again. You can't help it. You're such a masochist. And I'm the wonderful sadist in your mind~! I'll pull you underneath the murky waters of doubt and into the real world that I see. One full of chaos, pain, sorrow, and sweet, sweet melancholy. **_

"Stop fucking with me!" Ed suddenly yelled, surprising Al, who hadn't expected to hear his voice sound so…pained.

Al moved away the blonde hair that stuck to Ed's forehead, and looked at his face for any signs of another sickness coming on.

"Brother, are you alright?" Al's voice came out a little shaky. His brother didn't normally yell out profanities in his sleep… The helmet with glowing, soulful eyes moved closer to look at his older brother's panic-stricken gaze.

His younger brother's voice drowned out the child-like voice echoing in his head. When he looked at him, Ed screamed. Alphonse didn't look like the armor he was used to seeing. _Oh my god… oh my fucking hell…!_

Instead of the armor, in Alphonse's place stood the body of the young 14 year old dirty blonde. His skin clung to bones that jutted out from torn, bloody skin. He was missing his eyes, and dry blood caked the area around his sockets. Hunks of flesh hung on bones like clothing, and the smell of rotten, burned meat filled the air.

"What's wrong Nii-san?" the mouth of the ungodly thing moved and blood poured out if the mouth, splashing against the white tiles. Edward screamed again, covering his head again as he tried to move away from the thing in front of him.

_**You killed your own little brother, Edward. Face it, you're a terrible bastard for making him roam amongst the living. He might as well be a walking corpse, rotting even more by the second…**_

The thing took another step towards Ed, stumbling as limb broke under it. Ed couldn't stop screaming. One of his worst nightmares having come true, Ed couldn't help himself. It was too horrible. _NONONO! NOT REAL, IT'S NOT REAL!_

The corpse of 'Alphonse' raised a hand as if to touch his face. "Nii-san…? Please answer me! I want to know what's wrong!" The hand was close to touching Ed's left cheek. Blood dribbled down the arm, and a few droplets landed on Edward's face. This was too real. The blood on his face burned his skin like acid. A wicked grin was plastered on the torn, half-stitched mouth of the corpse, silently laughing at him. Ed screamed louder.

Golden eyes wide with unimaginable fear, he shook harder as managed to push himself against the rail on the other side of the bed. His stump of a right leg began to bleed through the bandages from the sudden dragging, and it left a faint trail of blood on the bed..

_**Now, suffer as you look upon what you've done to your only family. SUFFER!**_

Edward could no longer contain the tears that stung his eyes, and they now fell freely down his bruised face, making no other sound than the screams that rattled the room.

The walls were suddenly drenched in black blood. Ed's eyes widened as he let out another scream. The room looked exactly like the aftermath of transmuting his mother. Blood dripped down the walls, and laughter rang in his ears as Edward scratched at his face with his hand, drawing blood. _I can't take this! Make it all disappear! _Sobs now racked his body he screamed, the corpse looking at him with empty holes. It held out his hand, a few inches away from touching Edward. The smile bore itself into Ed's mind. He closed his eyes tightly as he shook his head frantically.

His hair stuck to his face, his clothes drenched in sweat. His heart was beating loudly in his ears, and the adrenaline burned in his blood, giving him the strength to scream louder at the rotting thing in front of him, blood and small pieces of flesh falling onto Ed's lap.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. His level of fear had reached its limit. He'd never been this scared in all his life. He was terrified of his own brother. The smell of death grew stronger as Ed shook, the fear showing on his face.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY! GO! GO!" Edward opened his eyes and saw the thing was kneeling on the bed, arms outstretched as if going to embrace him.

"Nii-san, it's me, Al!" Blood poured everywhere as it spoke, hunks of flesh spilling on the covers. Edward closed his eyes again, the fear of having to look at the thing chilled him to the bone. His sobs grew louder as he felt the bed shift and the thing got closer to him.

He felt a cold hand touch his shoulder and Edward howled in obvious pain. _It burns! IT HURTS! DON'T TOUCH ME! _His nightmare was killing him inside and out. Fear ate away at him, as guilt ate away at his soul. Everything was too much, the bloodshed in this one room—_MAKE IT GO AWAY! _

_**Don't you EVER forget the intensity of what you've done. Or I'll make this worse… it's not like you can run from me, either...**_

"P-please—make it g-go away!" Edward sobbed loudly. He didn't want to see this! Edward couldn't breathe as cold hands held him from his shoulders**(A/N:or 1½ …? IDK) **and Ed took the chance of opening his eyes.

He stared up, trembling, at the armor in front of him. The present Al. Or was it the other way around, and the illusion he saw was the present? Ed didn't give a fuck.

"A-Al…" his voice cracked harshly as he spoke. Relief washed over him. The intense fear in his eyes disappeared, and it was replaced once again by the sweet melancholy.

"Please…H-help me…" a small gasp emitted from the armor as his older brother seemed to go limp in his arms. For a few heart-stopping moments, Alphonse thought that his brother had died. But the ragged breathing that came from Edward's small form told him otherwise. Al could have cried. Soft sobs echoed in his armor as he set his brother down.

Alphonse was so scared. Edward had started screaming like he'd seen something really scary, and Al couldn't do anything. When he'd tried to ask what was wrong, Ed screamed louder. That's it. He was going to bring a flipping doctor in here right now.

As Al stood up to run out, Edward held onto his arm. Still asleep, Edward still had an idea of what was going on around him.

"Don't leave me…" he whispered shakily. Ed's face quickly softened as his grip on Al loosened, falling completely into slumber.

"It's so cold…" Al watched as Edward's breathing became stable. _Sorry, brother…_ he pulled away from his brother's hand and ran out of the room, and for the first time, he didn't even want to be close to his older brother.

* * *

**Me: YESS! I FINALLY TYPED IT ALL DOWN FROM MEMORY! HELL YES!**

**Abe: Good, now go to bed. -_-" You're hyper ness is depressing.**

**Me: And so is yellow *looks hi yellow T-shirt.***

**Abe: Screw you. Ima go bang some hoes! ^_^**

**Me: You mean watch Lolitas at the beach? (Lolis!)**

**Abe: Guess what?**

**Me: What?**

**Abe: SHUT UP.**

**Me: *sniffle***

**5 REVIEWS PPLZ! THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE! IM FIXING LAPTOP AS WE SPEAK! ^_^**


	2. Reminiscing

**HIIIIIIIII! I'M SO HAPPY! WANNA KNOW WHY? I GOT PICKED TO PLAY THE VOICE OF HIKARI IN KIMMY13R'S SERIES CALLED L.I.E.S.! HELL YEAH! If ya'll want to see my stupid audition, go to my YouTube account (HiromiTheAssassin) and see it. I sound so stupid XD! Anywayz, thx to all my fellow readers for inspiring one small document into this awesome trilogy!**

**Me: I wanna do a chapter with Ed, Al, and Winry!**

**Abraham: No.**

**Me: W-what? Why not?**

**Abraham: 'Cuz you didn't give me a boner today *wags finger***

**Me: *rolls eyes and then gets idea* AABBIIEE!**

**Abraham: WHAAA—? *mouth hangs open***

**Me: I'm reeeeaaally hooooot… *fake pouts while lifts shirt over head, revealing my sports bra***

**Abe: HOLY. SHIT. I can see your tits~! **

**Me: And now you've got a hard on, so now I will type my shit ^-^**

**Abe: What boner?**

**Me: *sighs* THIS one. *reaches for Abie's pants…and squeeze***

**Abe: O-oh!**

**Me: *eyes glint mischievously* Hahahaha…**

**Chapter 2**

**~Reminiscing~ **

She'd never seen Al like this. Not even when he and Ed got into a huge fight. But to see Al the way he was now… she didn't like it. Now able to roam about, Winry knelt in front of the shaking armor. He'd come running out of Ed's room yesterday, and hasn't gone back since. And yesterday, before going into Ed's room, he'd been so eager to see his older brother. Something wasn't right. Al wouldn't do that for any reason.

"Al, please tell me what's wrong…" she asked for the umpteenth time. Winry pulled a loose strand of light blonde hair away from her face, her sapphire eyes huge with worry. If Al didn't tell her… she felt like she was going to break. She hated to see him or Ed being stubborn about their feelings—and this was a first for Al. _it's not normal… come on Al… _

"Please, Al? Come on… you can tell me…" she laid a hand on his helmet, knowing he couldn't feel it, but the thought counted. Winry wanted to comfort him… but she didn't know what had caused this happy boy to become so silent in less than a day.

Al didn't answer her. The silence went on until Winry spoke again, her voice cracking slightly. "Please, Al! I hate it when you keep me in the dark… can't you tell me?" Silence. Al was so quiet, than when he did say something, she could barely hear the whisper. "I…" Al's huge body shuddered as he drew in his knees up to his metal chest plate. Winry thought he was going to rock back and forth, but he continued in his soft voice.

"I-I don't want to remember what Brother did in there…" Al shook in his fetal position, laying his helmet head on his knees.

_Was it that bad? Oh no… I wonder how Ed must feel about it… _Winry hadn't been able to see Ed yet… and she was worried as hell. She hated the fact that he was lying there, almost completely limbless. Winry just wanted to help Ed get up again… and since his ports are gone… it could mean that his nerves could have been damaged—prohibiting him from being able to use any automail.

"Come on, Al; let's go see your brother. Please?" Al shook his head furiously, stuttering his words.

"N-No! If he s-saw me, i-it might happen a-again…" Al began to let out small sobs. _It was so scary…I don't want Nii-san to do it again…_

"He was screaming as if… as if I were some kind of monster… he was screaming for me to leave him alone, a-and he was trying to get away from me… he was hurting himself and he just d-didn't… _care!_" Al broke out into louder sobs, armor making clanging noises as it shuddered heavily.

_Ed did that? Ed's not one to be scared so easily… or show fear at all—he's too freakin' stubborn. _Winry stood up from her crouch and turned her back towards Al.

"Well, if you don't have the guts to see your only big brother, then I guess I'll be the one to."

Ed hated it. His stumps ached, his head hurt, and he found out about a new symptom he had. He'd just been lying down—what else was he to do?—when suddenly, his stumps began to burn as if he were burning himself like a fucking pyromaniac. He had bitten his lip so hard, as not to yell out, that he had bleed. After an hour of that shit, the doctor decided to come in.

Ed had still been writhing, and the doctor attempted to see what was wrong, but Ed cussed him off. When it ended, the doctor already had san analysis.

It was something called the Phantom Limb Syndrome o-or something like that. Had to do with something about missing limbs… but who gives a shit? _Not me…that's for sure._

Ed sighed in frustration, blonde bangs moving upwards. He wanted to _move._ But no fucking way was he going to be moving soon… Winry would have to do the operation all over again—

His stomach tied itself in knots. _Winry… I haven't seen or heard from her since…well, since I brought her…back… _Ed's mind piled up with complications mixed with thoughts of worry. He felt like pulling out the cords attached to him and crawling his ass over to the front desk. _I HATE BEING SO FUCKINGRESTLESS! _His thoughts were interrupted when the door slowly clicked open.

Ed opened his golden eyes and looked towards the door. His eyes widened, and he tried to push himself up into a sitting position. _Fail…_ He found out how weak he was when he couldn't even push up his own thin form. "Winry!" he called out, a small smile breaking onto his face.

The first thing Winry noticed about Ed as she closed the door was how pale he was. He looked dead. _Of course—he hasn't been in the sun for so long… _She frowned slightly, pushing the memories into the back of her mind. But she smiled when Ed said her name, meaning he was well enough to speak with her.

"ED!" Winry felt like she was going to explode into bubbles. Weird, isn't it? Relief washed over the two persons in the room. Unlike whenever he saw her, his mood seemed to lift. Winry had to keep herself from glomping him as she rushed over next to him.

"I'm so glad your okay!" She felt tears prick at her eyes. She'd been worried sick—a feeling she was used to. _I'll have to call Granny and tell her how Ed is! _ _I know it may look like she doesn't really care, but she's been worried as much as I've been…_

Ed was so glad Winry was alright. _But what if something's a little off? Like what the Gate did to me? Oh no… that wouldn't be good…!_

"Winry." Winry raised her light eyebrows. Why'd he go from happy to serious?

"Yeah, Ed?" The smile on his face was gone, replaced by a deep frown. His golden eyes were slightly clouded.

"Are _you_ alright?" _WHAT? Ed's lying in a freaking hospital bed—practically sewed up like a rag doll—and he's wondering about me? He should be concerned more about himself right now!_

_But then again, he probably was as worried as I was about him… _Winry nodded. She noticed the gooseflesh on Ed's pale skin, and reached for the blanket at the foot of the bed. As she did so, Edward's hand shot out, grabbing her forearm softly. Looking up, Winry was surprised to see that Edward looked a little scared. She barely held in a small gasp. It had been forever since she saw that look on his face…

"Are you sure? Nothing…weird o-or something?" His grip tightened slightly, and Winry figured something wasn't right. She'd already said yes, but he still persisted. Something must be on his mind for him to worry so much about her.

"I'm fine. Really. No need to be so…concerned." Ed let out a large sigh of relief, as if he'd been holding his breathe for a long time. A small smile etched onto his face.

"That's good…" he sighed. Letting go of Winry, he used his only arm to rub softly on his right stump. It was starting to feel numb, and that meant that soon, the Phantom Pain would return, and Ed didn't want it to.

_Winry would think that I need more rest, and leave me alone—with __**you.**__ I don't want that. After you finally stopped verbally torturing me, I don't want you to start again. _

_**But why not? **_Ed froze when the child-like voice drifted back into his head. _**It's not torture, you over-exaggerator. It's something people like to call the TRUTH.**_

_**The truth is the truth—so don't try to sugar-coat it to make it seem like you're the victim. You and I both know who the real victims in this tragedy are. I don't think you need a reminder of yesterday—do you?**_

"Ed." Ed snapped his head up. Winry had sat on the edge of the bed, and she was slapping his left cheek softly.

"What's wrong? I know by the way you're acting that you don't want me to know something. Don't be like Alphonse and not tell me anything… and I don't want you to lie to me. So spill it, Edward." It was the old Winry all over again.

Ed didn't want to tell her. But sooner or later, she'd know. Then she'll be pissed at him forever for not saying shit. Edward took a deep breath, knowing that soon, Winry would be screaming at him, but at least she would know.

"Alright…but if you say shit to Al—I don't know what'll happen."

_Brother… brother… Nii-san… I want me brother… _Al hadn't moved since Winry had left to see Ed. He wanted to go too. But he didn't want his brother screaming at him. It was scary. Like he didn't know him. _Maybe—maybe he didn't know me for a moment… I did read somewhere that t-trauma can do that to people… _

The armor lifted his head and looked at the ceiling. _What should I do? I really want to see Nii-san… but I'm scared… _The Edward he'd seen yesterday wasn't the brother he grew up with—he knew that much. He looked…weak.

_And it's all no thanks to __**H**__im. He did this too Nii-san… it was all His fault… _The criminal who'd stolen his brother from him was nameless to him, but Al didn't need a name to identify the crazy man. All he needed to know was what he'd done.

_Wherever he is, I hope he's getting what he deserves for changing my brother into a stranger… _"Brother…" Al stood abruptly. He couldn't take it anymore. He was going to go crazy if he didn't do it.

Al was going to see his brother—regardless of what might happen.

Al heard Winry's voice even before he opened the door. It was loud and shrill, as if she wanted to explode, but was doing what she could not to. He couldn't hear what she was saying.

"—do that just to save me?" Al froze, doorknob in his hand, staring at an angry looking Winry and an Edward who was trying not to look at her as he intently stared at his sheets.

"W-Why'd you have to go so far when you didn't have too…?" Winry whispered, anger making her voice quiver. Ed continued staring at his sheets, but answered the other blonde's question in a monotone voice.

"Why do you want to know if you can't do shit about it? It's not like it matters anymore—"

_**SLAP!**_

The sound of Winry's hand slapping Edward across his face echoed off the room walls. Edward didn't look surprised, and he sat there as his body moved the other direction slightly.

Winry ran right out of the room, not wanting to be around Edward. _Why? Why his life? _ She ignored Al as he called to her, telling her to stop running. She ran down the hall, tears now burning her face as they slid down her face.

His cheek turning into a flushed red, Ed looked at his little brother. _Fuck. I wish he didn't have to see that… _Guilt filled him up again, but it was only for Winry at the moment. He was always bad when it came to sentimentality…

"Go." Al made a small sound of surprise.

"What?"

"GO."

Al mind was looking for reasons why his brother wanted him to leave, up until Edward explained.

"Please… Tell Winry I'm sorry and that I can't help being human…" Al suddenly understood. It wasn't because his brother didn't want him there. He was actually worrying about someone else's feelings besides his own and Al's. Al nodded slowly and began to leave.

"Wait, Al!" Alphonse turned to his brother. Al was shocked at what he saw.

His brother suddenly looked so very old. He saw the places where stress lines were forming, and the deep, dark circles under Ed's eyes. He also noticed how pale his brother was. Not only his skin, but his once brilliant, golden braid had faded somewhat, and his brother's eyes didn't have the look of ignorance that made them sparkle anymore. He looked nothing like the old Edward.

"Tell her I'm also sorry…for breaking the promise I tried to keep… I swear—next time, those tears of hers will be fucking happy ones." Al could have smiled. It sounded as if the old Edward was still under there.

"I will, Nii-san."

_**That's right. Your little façade is over. Well—sort of. With that girl, there's no way you can hide anything from her. I'm so glad you didn't get to the part where I pop up. She would think you insane. Then again. You are. But her naiveté amuses me greatly. She didn't even how demanding equivalent exchange could be. Stupid broad. It makes me want to giggle.**_

_Shut up. Go back to hell. You'd be doing more good there than with me._

_**Where's the fun in that? I love how your life is going downhill so very, very fast. It's exhilarating! Oh, what a rush chaos is~!**_

_**You should probably stop speaking with me. Wait—you're not going to be able to anyway~!**_

_What do you—? _Edward hissed as his stumps began to burn again. Laughter rang in his ears, increasing the torment.

Oh how he wished someone was there to make it go away.

**Sorry I kinda late—laptop still being stupid and I still trying to audition for other shit. But I got this down ^-^**

**Abe: Whoopty freakin Do.**

**Me: Shut up! But I still hyper!*jumps up and down on bed.***

**Abe: COULD U AT LEAST PUT YOUR FUCKING SHIRT BACK ON? YOU'RE DRIVEN ME CRAZY!**

**Me: How do you know that wasn't my intention? Hmm? **

**Abe: I just do, bitch.**

**Me: O hell no! Don't make me go all Emo-ninja on you!**

**Abe: And then you'll disappear with your skills. FOREVER.**

**5 reviews again! Check out my other stories too! Also, check out freddiew on YouTube! He's flipping EPIC!**


	3. Keeping Secrets

Sorry I late again—stupid doctors wouldn't let me on laptop since it has "flashing lights" fuck them -_-"

**WHOA! WHAT UP, BITCH? Jk. It's me again! Well, I guess pplz really do care about what could happen in my story. I didn't know some pplz still READ this after the prequel. SO, GIVE ME THE REASON WHY YOU STILL READ ON ^-^! Also, I will post another FMA story soon called COLD, BUT I'M STILL HERE. It's an alternative ending to the original series. It involves ghosts ^-^! **

**Abe: I'm bored SHITLESS.**

**Me: O Shuddup u old fart. I need to please the readers ^-^**

**Abe: Then take off Ur shirt, that usually works with me ^_^**

**Me: FUCK! I not letting you touch MY cheesecake now _**

**Abe: BITCH, Y U HATIN'?**

**Me: Shut up! And don't talk like a gangster. U did that yesterday.**

**Abe: Sorry, I half black ^-^**

**Me: And the other half is Stupid.**

**Abe: So that means we're RELATED?**

**Me: Ugh! U bastard!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**~Keeping Secrets~**

_I shouldn't have hit him! I shouldn't have! _Winry sat at the corner of the room she was occupying at the hospital. Hands wrapped around her head, she sobbed heavily. Her fingers intertwined themselves into her long, light blonde hair. She was shaking hard, torn between wanting to be angry and from being woeful.

_Half of it…! Why, Ed, why? _Her hot tears poured down her face as she hugged her body. _The one he gave back…_ she would have never guessed that Ed would do it. He'd already tried once before, and it didn't work… She didn't know why he was able to bring her back, but Ed had explained calmly.

"_The reason I was able to get you back was the same reason I was able to get Al's soul back: You weren't at the Gate for a long while. You hadn't gone __**through**__ it or anything—just lingered. Al and I couldn't do it the first time because our mother had gone through the Gate long before…"_

It made since, but she didn't know the reason why he risked himself to get her back. He hadn't gotten that far. Winry had been too angry at him. If she did die there, then she should have stayed that way. But when she expressed her opinion, Ed's expression became dark and grim.

"_No, Winry. You weren't supposed to die then. I don't know why, but it's all part of some crazy scheme that i don't know shit about…"_

_But __**what scheme**__? What kind of plan would involve something like this to __**happen**__? _Winry's frantic thinking was interrupted when Al came through the door. _Al… He doesn't know…_Winry wiped away the tears on her face as Al came towards her. The hulking armor creaked as it walked across the room.

"Winry, what happened in there?" Winry almost jumped at Al's voice. He sounded so young… she noticed this right now as the heat rose to her face. She was embarrassed for being seen like that, and for the fact that Al saw her smack the crap out of Ed.

"N-nothing, Al," she said, cursing in her voice for cracking, "Just that your brother was being stupid again." That fooled Al once, and hopefully it would work one more time. It's not like she was going to lie to him forever… right?

"But you've never hit him like that before. You didn't even reach for your wrench. I don't remember you ever hitting him without it." _Damn. I'm far too soft to keep this up!_

Winry felt like spilling what she knew, but if she did, Al would be devastated and she'd lose Ed's trust… She fought hard enough to get him to say anything important to her. _And when he shows that he trusts me enough to tell me something important, he tells me THIS? _Winry felt like tearing out her hair.

Al stared at her with those soulful, ruby eyes as she tried to come up with something. "Well, I-I wasn't thinking right! Yeah, that's it! HAHAHA!" _Dammit! He's not gonna buy it! _

Al sighed heavily, and the sound echoed softly as it echoed inside him. "Why don't you tell me? It's not like the world will end." _Al. My existence in this world will come to an end! You're brother would kill me!_

"Sorry, Al. I can't tell you. It's a surprise." A plan popped up in Winry's head, and she was glad that February 3rd was coming up. "You know why! The usual thing! E-Ed doesn't want a birthday party again!" _WORK! PLEASE WORK!_

"Really? Not again! It's going to be his 16th birthday and doesn't want a PARTY?" _YEESS! It worked! _Winry let out a sigh of relief as Al ranted on about only being 16 once.

Winry looked at Al as he began pacing the room, saying aloud the possibilities of being able to pull off a surprise party. _I hate lying… I hope when all this is over, that we'll all forgive each other for lying so much…_

"Winry! Come on, help me think!" the innocence displayed in Al's voice was dangerous. So naïve, it hurt to hear him speak.

It made Winry want to kill herself for lying.

* * *

_**Do you like it? The hot, burning in your body? Makes you feel warm on the inside, doesn't it? Isn't it comforting?**_

_How is it…comforting? _Ed bit his lip harder, tasting the copper in his mouth. He curled up against himself, making him into a small, trembling ball.

_**Well, it proves that you're still alive, and that none of this is a dream. A sick, sick dream. As much as you wish it to be one, this is one nightmare you'll never wake from.**_

Ed let out a small gasp as the burning intensified. Sweat rolled down his pale face. Blonde hair sticking to his neck and face, eyes shut tightly as he panted. _Didn't they make a pill for this kind of pain? _Ed opened his golden eyes halfway. _The room… it's so blurry…_ Ed bared his teeth, hissing loudly, flinching as the pain increased even more.

_**You went years without having this pain. And when it does, it comes as a giant bitch-slap. I'm surprised you haven't allowed yourself to scream yet. It's not like you have any pride left, so scream like the little boy you are! **_

_NO! _Ed grinded his teeth together. Amongst the pain, anger rose inside him. _I may not have any pride left, but I still have the will to not show any weakness to YOU! _Ed knew his effort was useless, but it made him feel a little better on the inside. The door clicked open and Ed feverishly pulled the covers over his head, trying not to squeak as he moved, causing more pain.

"Brother~!" _CRAP! IT'S ALPHONSE! Wait, why does he sound so happy?_

Edward tried to stop his shaking, but it didn't work. Al's steps had come to a stop beside his bed. _Shit… Don't look under here! Don't look at me!_

"Brother, is something wrong?" Against Ed's wishes, the covers came away from his form, exposing the shaking position he was in.

"_Dammit!" _Ed practically hissed. He didn't want Al to see because he'd fuss over him like he always did.

"Al, don't you dare…bitch at me! I-I really don't need it…"

_**AHAHAHA! You can't hide anything from your little brother, can you? Well, besides the little inconvenience that got your friend back. But that won't stay a secret for long—I'm sure of it!**_

"Brother! What's happening?" Al didn't like the way his brother looked. His eyes looked bloodshot. Sweat glistened on Ed's skin. He was shaking violently. His only hand was holding the stump of the other arm, and his only leg was drawn up to his chest.

"I-it's nothing, Al. It'll p-pass soon…" _At least I hope so…This shit has been hurting FOREVER!_

"B-But, brother—should I go get the doctor?" Al's shrill voice hurt Ed's all-too-sensitive ears, and Ed flinched visibly.

"No—he c-can't do anything about it… This h-happens to people…who've lost their l-limbs…" Ed could feel the pain dulling a little, and he smiled inwardly. "But i-it goes away…eventually…" He tried to loosen up his muscles, and was relieved when they were able to.

The armor, though, was still a little concerned, if not worried, for his brother. The huge armor leaned forward to see Ed's face better. "A-are you sure you don't need the doctor?" Ed nodded slowly and gave Al a small smile.

Feeling like he was able to move without causing himself serious pain, Ed turned and lay on his back. "Fuck…" Al squealed at the cuss word.

"Brother!" Al didn't like Edward using those kinds of words. Even though Ed was older than he was and had full right to use them, Al didn't like him saying them when he was around. "Your manners! Where are they?"

Ed gulped. A pissed Al was never a good one. "S-sorry. I just kind of moved a little too early…"

_**Ugh. Brotherliness. Disgusting. You two make me sick. But to think, in a few years, because of your stupidity and your bond with that girl, that your little brother will be lacking that feature. You will be dead, so he'll have no one else to be like this for. Hahahaha-and you promised him you'd never leave him alone, too! WOW! How the tables turn against you! **_

It struck Ed like a bullet. The voice was right. He hated it when it was right… To bring back Winry, he'd pretty much made his due date earlier, causing him to leave Al sooner than he was supposed to. He almost broke one promise to keep another…

Al noticed how his brother became still and how the mood suddenly became dark on Ed's face. His small mile had turned back into a frown.

"Al…is it okay…if we didn't…talk…?" Ed thought if he heard his little brother say anything about what happened all those weeks ago, he'd come up with some bullshit that he'd regret later on.

He was surprised when his little brother said, "It's fine with me. I pretty much love being around you anyways!" That simple pleasure that brought Al happiness almost broke Edward. _Oh Al…_

_**Oh poor, sweet, innocent little Al. I actually pity him. So sad that you have to take the express train to Hell earlier than anticipated. But it can't be helped. You brought this upon yourself, and karma's coming right back to whip your stupid ass.**_

_Shut up. I don't need YOUR bullshit… There's no need for you to pity him—he doesn't need shit from you. _

Ed turned his head and looked at Al. The armor was sitting in the corner facing him. _I know he wants to talk to me…but I can't…do it…_

_**You don't have to be here, you know. Come with me, and I'll show you a place where you can be all alone, and no one will be able to see you hurt like this~!**_

The child-like voice purred and cooed in his head. It sounded terribly suspicious. _If I do, though, what'll happen out here? _Ed felt oddly as if he were being led into something he'd regret later. But his curiosity was peaked.

_**Oh that's easy! Your body will pretty mush just go on 'autopilot'. No one will notice a **__**thing**__**. Come on… it won't be long~!**_

Ed didn't like how the thing was sweet talking to him. Whatever it was up to, it was bad. _No thanks, I'll take my chances__** here**__ instead of __**there.**_

_**Oh. Well, that's too bad. I didn't want to force you, but looks like you aren't coming if I ask nicely…**_

_What?_

Ed could have screamed if something hadn't felt like it was choking him. The back of his eyes burned as he let out a small ragged cry. His back arched slightly as he shut his eyes tightly, writhing slightly.

_**Stop resisting, dammit! It's not like you'll achieve anything. You're going, whether you like it or not. **_

The world seemed to move in slow motion as Ed scratched at his throat, trying to find the invisible hands that choked him harder. _What's happening? Stop it! STOP IT!_

His arms plopped onto the bed as it went into a paralyzed state. Ed could feel the adrenaline going on overdrive as he started to stare at the ceiling. Ed could hear the muffled cries of Alphonse, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

_What are you doing to me? _

_**Didn't I tell you? You're going somewhere that only I know where it's located. I'm making sure once you're in there…**_

The voice giggled as Edward's eyesight blurred with tears that he didn't know were there. The child-like voice continued while Ed slowly closed his eyes.

_**...that you'll **__**never**__** get out.**_

* * *

"So you're saying that they are going to go after him again?" Roy felt so frustrated with all the work that had piled up over the past few weeks. But his mind wasn't on any of the paperwork that lay in front of him.

"Yeah. I heard some guys talking about it at the Devil's Cavern. They had tattoos on the back of their hands—I'd know it anywhere." The voice on the other end seemed reluctant to tell Roy what he was talking about.

_I need to find tougher informants… _Roy didn't have any time to waste and he almost yelled into the receiver, "Well? What are you waiting for? Tell me!"

"Ah! I-it's the sol tattoo that you've seen around! It only means one thing… the group you're looking for… is _Helios_."

_Oh no… _Roy ran a hand trough his black hair as he shook his head. _Why'd it have to be THEM?_ Roy had heard a lot about the alleged group. The size of the group, though, made it seem like a government of some sorts—the number of members was unknown.

Helios was known to the military as a rebel group of some sort, but they weren't your average rebels. The group was full of assassins and geniuses skilled in almost every weapon. Sometimes, if they had no other choice, the military would hire a few of them for large sums of money to assist in times of war. But that wasn't the worst part.

They were also known for being companions of the homunculi.

_Dammit! Of all the people to get involved with, FullMetal gets caught up with THEM? _After a brief moment, Roy spoke through the phone again.

"So when are they planning to retrieve him?"

"Five days from now. Around midnight. I-I have to go; I've been on the phone for too long. You better keep my identity hidden, or I swear I'd go over there and kick your Colonel ass!"

It was a weak attempt at a threat. Roy hung up the phone and let out a huge sigh. He rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them. He waited a moment before picking up the phone and dialing another number.

"Increase the number of soldiers around the Hospital's perimeter. Also get a few alchemists over there—including Armstrong. He could be useful over there. Don't ask why, dammit, just do it! Colonel's orders!"

_We have to make sure the little brat doesn't get killed by them…he might know something…Also, Al and Riza would bitch at me. But still. _

What Roy didn't get was why they wanted a young alchemist such as Edward Elric. He had no clue, and he didn't want to find out by having Edward kidnapped again and/or killed. The kid had enough bullshit going around him.

_I swear, I'm going to get to the bottom of this… and those bastards are going to pay… for giving me so much fucking PAPERWORK!_

* * *

"Brother! Are you ok?" _Brother, wake up! _Al shook Ed by his arm softly, trying to get him to open his eyes. _Brother!_

"Al…stop it!" Edward opened his eyes, looking a little green as Al jumped in surprise.

"Brother, you scared me! What happened? Do you need me to get someone to he—?"

"Nah, I'm sure it was nothing… actually, I think I'm feeling better than I have for a while now!" Edward flashed a huge smile before pulling the blanket over his head. "But, I do feel a little weird… I haven't been moving a lot lately, and I think what bones I have left are getting stiff." Al was surprised at the cheeriness in Ed's voice. Also, he was peaked by it. _Call me crazy, but I think Nii-san's voice got a little…high pitched… _

"O-Okay, if you say so…" Al sat back down against the wall, but kept a very close eye on the blonde boy lying on the bed.

_**He doesn't suspect a thing! How marvelous! I can feel! I can touch! I can breathe! Oh, how I missed the feeling of freedom! I finally have it!**_

Edward smiled again under the covers. He stifled a laugh by pressing a hand to his mouth.

_**I finally have my own body! ^_^!**_

* * *

_Why is it so dark? Why is it so cold? Why am I all alone? _Ed couldn't tell where he was. It was dark…and cold… The ground was a purplish-red, and he could only see a few feet in front of him. He was in a chair… but he was tied to it.

_Where am I? What is this place? _Ed wished he had his automail—or even some chalk—so he could do some alchemy and get his ass out of this place. It had a really bad vibe to it…

_**It sucks in there, doesn't it?**_

Edward's head snapped up painfully, looking for the source of the voice that echoed around him. "Where the FUCK are you?" Laughter rang out, making Ed flinch.

_**Well, lets just say I switched places with you~! Don't worry, nobody misses you! Not one bit~!**_

_?_Edward froze. _Switched…places…? _

_Ah, hell._

"The FUCK? What the crap do you think you're doing?" Ed thrashed in his chair, cursing at himself for getting so weak. The rope that tied his arm to the chair had already rubbed his wrist raw. He felt something pull at his blonde ponytail and he whipped his head around. No one.

_**Hey, no need to be so uptight! It is our body—don't you think I deserve a turn? Of course you don't. You're too selfish.**_

"OUR body? What the fuck? It's my body, dammit!" Ed tried to see what lie beyond the darkness around him, hoping to find some way out.

_**Well, it's mine now. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to fuck with your brother a little bit—see how he feels about the new Edward~!**_

_WHAT? _"YOU LEAVE AL ALONE, YOU FRIGGIN' BASTARD! WHY DON'T YOU KEEP FUCKING WITH ME INSTEAD, YOU COCKBITE?" Ed struggled against his restraints desperately. He needed to get out _now._

_**Oh, I'm not done with you. I'm just trying to make shit worse for you out here~! Well, goodbye for now~! I wonder—how long will it take me to make everybody **__**hate**__** you?**_

"STOP! You're not going anywhere, dammit! STOP! STOP!" Edward kept screaming at the top of his lungs, even though he knew no one was listening in the infinite darkness around him.

* * *

**YES! LONG CHAPTER! This time I want 7 REVIEWS! See how many people DO read this A**

**Me: Man my fingers hurt!**

**Abe: Damn, now you can't give me a decent hand-job…**

**Me: WHAT THE CRAP? WHO SAID I WAS EVEN GONNA GIVE YOU ONE?**

**Abe: Me.**

**Me: What gives you the right to say that?  
Abe: Well, you ARE **_**MY **_**bitch ^-^ so that makes me your PIMP!**

**Me: I'm so going to rip off your balls…**


	4. Nostalgia and Hate

**I thought you'd people would never come up with enough reviews! Abraham's not here since he was being a turd at school and got in trouble (FINALLY) and I'm here all alone. Typing. With no frigging comedy. Ah, hell… Anyways, these following chapters and through the rest of these series, I will be typing and uploading whenever I can. But u guys can keep leaving reviews (I need MOTIVATION!) and I'm glad my work is satisfactory ^_^ I thought u pplz were going to kill me if I didn't upload, just so u know O_O**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**~Nostalgia and Hate~  
**

He hated it. He hated the confined space. The dark, gloomy aura surrounding him. It was suffocating him, and it took all he had not to fall and become part of the unknown. And that was his worst fear at the moment. If he fell here, he wouldn't be able to take his body back. He wouldn't see Al or Winry again.

But he was so weak…

He knew that if he even gave up in the slightest, he would go out like a light. And he certainly didn't want that_ bastard_ to do anything that would hurt anybody around him. Hells no.

Against his wishes, the haunting voice echoed around him.

_**Today's the day~!**_

Edward's head snapped up. Tired eyes scanned the darkness around him.

"What's there to be so fucking happy about?" The fact that _it_ was happy pissed him off to no end. It was disgusting.

_**Today's the day I'm going to fuck up your world. And don't you go bitching about how you're going to stop me, because we both know how impossible that'd be.**_

_WHAT? _Ed lunged forward instinctively, trying furiously to loosen the binds holding his arm back. His wrist bled onto the rope, and his raw skin stinging. He clenched his teeth tightly as he hissed in pain.

"The hell you are! I'll be making sure you don't do shit!" his voice was hoarse with his earlier tantrums, and he wished so very badly that he didn't sound weak. Even though he felt seriously deprived of energy.

_**How? You can only hear what I do. You know what? I'm going to let you watch, ok? That way it'll be way more fun for me to break you away.**_

Ed could hear the smile in his voice. It was being serious.

_**From now on, you will see as I see. That means you'll see everything as if you were doing it to yourself. Ah, the horror of our little relationship~! Together as one being, your world will shatter like the hope you lost all those years ago.**_

_**I only hope you're here long enough to witness this rebellion of mine, Edward.**_

* * *

"Ed, are you awake?" Winry poked her blonde head through the door, blue eyes growing huge with anticipation. Alphonse, who was in the corner, waved her in, a huge, black hand shushing her.

"He's not up yet," Al whispered to the blonde who now stood beside him, "he was tossing all night."

They looked over to the golden haired teen laying before them. "Well, he doesn't seem to be having any trouble now…" Winry poked at the other blonde's cheek. The pale skin was soft, and if she didn't know any better, Winry would have thought that he was dead.

"In fact… he's… _smiling._" It was true. A small, mischievous smile was on his face. Al stood and took a look.

"You're right! I wonder if he's having a good dream…"

* * *

"Stop! Dammit, didn't I tell you to—?" The back of his eyes burned and Edward shut them tight. Everything around him seemed to be growing even darker, and he didn't like it. The growing darkness was closing in, and he had no way to escape it.

_**Are you ready, Edward? It's time to get this show started~!**_

Ed opened his golden eyes, and the first thing he saw were his little brother and Winry standing over him._ No…_

* * *

"Oh—hey Ed! Your sleepy ass finally up this time?" Al looked at Winry in disbelief. But he sighed instead of telling her to be nice. _I guess the old Winry's back… I wonder if that's a good thing…_

Winry flicked Ed on the forehead. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" The sweet tone she used before was replaced by an annoyed one. She reached forward to flick him again and—

Ed's left hand shot out, catching Winry's wrist tightly. A small squeak escaped her lips. _What the hell? _

Ed slowly sat up, causing Winry to lean back. As Winry was about to speak, his grip tightened on her wrist. "E-Ed, let go! It's starting to hurt!" Winry tried pulling her hand back, but Ed's hand just squeezed tighter. "HEY!"

Ed's head snapped up and Winry's eyes widened. _His…his eyes…! _Edward's eyes were nothing like what she remembered. They were full of an emotion she'd only seen twice. She would never forget that look.

It was a look of murderous intent so great, that she could feel her heart beat fast and adrenaline start burning through her veins. A look of such uncontrollable fury and madness that it frightened her. She wanted to run far away from Edward—but she was completely immobilized. But the thing that frightened her the most was the color.

Edward's eyes were a blood-red.

"Ah, so _you're _Winry… Such a rude little bitch." A thick layer of disgust coated his voice and a wide smile broke onto his face.

"Brother!" Ed glanced over to the huge armor and lost complete interest in Winry, and with inhuman strength tossed over to the side.

"Well, what a big pile of _regret_ and_ pity_ we have here!" Al ran over to Winry who was picking herself off from the floor, shaking. Ed's eyes followed his every step.

"Brother, what was that for? Winry are you okay?" Winry nodded and they both glanced over to the bed. But it was empty. "Brot—?"

"I hope you can forgive me, but is it all right if I _kill_ you? Pretty please?" Al and Winry turned around to see Ed sitting behind them, a trail of blood where he dragged himself from.

"I just want to see your terror stricken face! Hear you scream! SEE YOU BLEED!" Before the two of them could move, Ed grabbed a scalpel from the stand that always stood next to the window and threw it.

Winry didn't feel anything at first, nor did she feel Al pull her to the side. It wasn't until she felt the blood dripping down her face did her senses come back. With a shaking hand, the light blonde wiped the blood from her cheek.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Al felt extremely frustrated and scared with the whole situation. The armor shook slightly as he went in front of Winry to shield her from any other possible attacks.

"I'm _so_ sorry, but you don't get it, do you?"

_What? What's nii-san saying? _"W-What do you mean?"

"I hoped you would figure it out by yourself, but you're too simple-minded—just like your brother!" _What?_

Al froze. He stared hard at Edward as the older sibling tilted his head to the side. The smile hadn't budged since it had appeared, and now it looked as if it were stitched right onto his face.

"Too bad, I'm not giving you any hints at the moment!" Ed giggled like a five year old as Winry shook behind the huge armor.

_H-he threw a frigging… if Al hadn't… I-I could've…! _Adrenaline burned through her, making her shake harder. Everything inside her told her that she needed to get out of there. Now. But she was frozen there, and she was never more afraid of Ed in her life.

"Now," Ed licked his dry lips, "where shall I start?"

* * *

Everything that happened next was a painful blur in Edward Elric's head. His sight was tinted red at the corners, and his heart felt as if it were about to burst from his chest.

She was screaming. She was crying. She was bleeding. Edward hated himself for what was happening, and he had no idea how to stop it.

He—no, _it_ was hurting her. It was hurting Al. _Make it stop… _The image of Winry was frozen in his mind:

She was trying her best to shield Al's disembodied form. Somehow, It had managed to open Al's chest, and had ripped the chest plate away from the armor. The intentions of this imposter were clear.

He was trying to kill Al.

Ed struggled against the binds holding him to the chair. He needed to do something…! His dark blonde hair stuck to his face, sweat coated his body. His limbs felt slick and gross. _Let me free! I need to stop this! Please! I DIDN'T BRING THEM BACK TO WATCH THEM DIE SO FUCKING SOON! _

As if by a miracle, the rope around his wrist snapped. Edward let out a cry of triumph mixed with relief as he bent down to untie his leg. The rope came away easily, and he slid off the chair and onto the floor.

His eyes burned, and he felt the darkness around him begin to eat away at his energy. _Not yet, bitches, not yet!_

"What the hell are you doing?" Edward covered his ears as the voice echoed in the small space around him. _I'm coming out, you bastard!_

"Your ass is mine, bitch!" Ed yelled out. Suddenly, black human hands sprouted from the ground. They grabbed his bloodied wrist and ankle, and slowly began to sink back into the ground, dragging him with them.

"You're not going anywhere, Edward Elric!"

But he needed to be OUT THERE! Edward gritted his teeth together as he came up with the strength to rip his limbs away from the hands. As soon as his limbs were free, the hands became ashes as new ones sprouted to replace them.

Using his now free hand, Edward reached out into the darkness, hoping to catch something in his grip—anything at all. A gasp escaped his lips when his hand clasped around something and it spoke.

"I'm not letting you out!"

Despite his situation, despite the ghostly hands grabbing at his body, he smiled a look of determination in his face, mixed with anger.

_I've got you now._

* * *

**OOH, Cliff hanger XD! I know, I know, not my best chapter, but at least I uploaded so don't bitch ^_^ Anyways, I finally got some progress! I've g=had a really bad case of writers block, and I'm pissed TT_TT but the next chapter will be better, I promise!**


	5. Conflict Inside Me

_**I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! **_**U PEOPLE LOVE ME TOO! I'm terribly sorry for the confusion of the last chapter TT_TT and I hope to make up for it by making this one BETTER! RAWR! At least, I'm gonna try… beware, major creepiness and is based on a true event that happened to yours truly O_O the end of this chapter, if you wish to know how it's related to me, I will gladly answer either in the next chapter or as a review ^-^**

**Abe: ….**

**Me: Dude.**

**Abe: … **

**Me: Dude!**

**Abe: …**

**Me: DUDE!**

**Abe: What?**

**Me: DO. SOMETHING.**

**Abe: *sigh* If I wanted to do something, it would involve a long length of rope and makeup. And that would mean that I'd love to hang you and paint an emotion of sadness on your face that would break the hearts of everyone and plummet them into a never ending despair over a useless, pitiful being as yourself.**

**Me: O_O**

**Abe: Still want me to do something?  
Me: N-No it's cool! *stares at Emo aura surrounding Abe***

**Me: fufufufufu… fufu… fufufufufu… **

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**~Conflict Inside Us~**

Edward pulled it out of the darkness, and almost cried out in shock: He was looking at himself. But it was _far_ worse….

This version of him seemed to be covered in blood. Clothing in tatters, and wounds littered his skin. The eyes were red. The messy blonde braid was tainted red on the tips, and more blood was smeared all over his face.

It was missing both right arm and left leg.

"How do I look? Terrible? Disgusting? Do you know who I am?" Ed's twin grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled his face closer to his.

"I'm the part of you that you want to forget. The part you can forgive. The source of all your sorrow and regret. Your pity, anger, guilt—you name it!" Edward shook. The shock spread to every corner of his being. He didn't know why he was so afraid, but every one of his instincts told him to kill the thing in front of him.

"Don't you go killing me, or you'll die too~! And you wouldn't want that, now, would you?" Edward slapped away his twin's hand and frantically tried to scoot away from it, but his body wouldn't move anymore.

"Why would you want to leave, Edward? It's what you wanted, isn't it? To be away from everything that caused you all the hell in your life? Isn't it?" Edward's twin began creeping closer, a small trail of blood being imprinted into the black ground. A huge smile broke onto the face as the blood-red eyes widened even more.

"I will never understand you… No matter what I do, you're never happy about it! I grant you every wish I can for you, and you always—always!—hate me for it! Like when you tried to bring your mother back—you never truly wanted her back! You didn't know it, but you secretly did in your black heart that you would fail! You knew you wouldn't be able to take care of your brother… But your other stupid emotions drove you to do it anyway, and your heart screamed for you to stop… But you didn't listen… I had to interfere with the process in order for it to fail…"

Edward's twin clung to his shoulder, shaking slightly. The laughter had completely left It's voice and it squeezed Ed's shoulder lightly.

"Look what you did to us!" It lifted It's head, and Edward saw blood-red tears streaming down It's face. The smile tat was once there had completely vanished. Edward couldn't believe what it was saying. But deep inside himself, Edward knew that whatever this thing was saying was true. He felt something ache in his chest begin to fill with melancholy as he looked down at It—no, himself.

It began to sob, sputtering out "Why?" in between gasps. Blood poured down his face and it splattered the ground heavily. Suddenly, it threw himself at him, holding Edward tightly, sobbing loudly into his shirt.

Slowly, the sobs dissolved into nervous laughter. "B-But there's nothing you can do about it now, Edward… Despite all your efforts… you can't forget… I won't let you! I'm not going to let you hurt us anymore! You're going to stay right here like I have for the past 16 years of our life!"

"STOP." Edward's twin froze as it stared at Ed's face. "Enough. I'm getting the fuck outta here. If you've been 'here' that long, then I'm sure as hell that you're gonna stay here much longer. I actually have things to do out there." Edward was rambling again like he always did when he had nothing to say—or when he had no excuse.

He hated it here. He had a strong feeling that if he stayed here any longer, then he'd die for sure.

"Well…that's too bad…" Edward watched as his gruesome twin began to vanish.

"I-I promise… I'm going to make it hurt less…! I-I'm going… to kill them all… if I do… we won't get hurt anymore… maybe you'll thank me… just one time…" A sad, melancholic tone had taken over its voice as it began to sink into the black.

Out of fear that he would his one way out, Edward lunged forward to grasp his twins hand as it waved goodbye to him. Edward felt his hand close around its fingers right before they exploded into a pile of ash and blood that slipped through his fingers and sprayed onto his pale face.

Golden eyes wide, arm frozen still reaching out for the monster that seemed to have become part of the dark space around him. His emotions that he'd kept balled up came out.

Edward punched the black wall It had sunk into, and let out a heart-wrenching cry that contained his current misery. It took everything he had to convince himself that it wasn't a sob that had escaped his throat.

* * *

She didn't understand any of it. She had no idea why Edward would attack them the way he did. Nor did she understand why he had stopped and begun talking to himself. But what made it so confusing was that it sounded like two voices that were arguing with one another. The conversation Edward was having with himself made her ponder on the thought that maybe Edward had lost his marbles.

Winry sat in the corner, hugging he cold, dismembered suit of armor to her chest. Blood coated the front of her shirt. But it wasn't hers. It was Edward's blood. The armor shook heavily as they listened to the frightening conversation.

But she wasn't paying attention at all. She only saw Edward's mouth moving as he hugged himself and cried blood-red tears a smile displayed on his face as he stared right through the two of them. He seemed oblivious to the fact that they were there, even though he'd just tried to _kill_ them. He also didn't seem to care that his stumps were bleeding heavily.

She was frozen in her place as he seemed to snap back into reality and turned back to them, the terrifying smile even wider on his face as the inhumanly red eyes burned itself in her mind as a new source for her nightmares.

"That's right… if I kill you both… my master will be happy… Edward will feel better…!" He crept nearer and nearer, making Winry hold onto Alphonse tighter, protecting the transmutation circle that tied Al to this world.

"E-Ed, what are you doing? Pull yourself together!" Edward grabbed her wrist and tore her away from Alphonse. Their faces almost touching, Winry stared at the pale face of the stranger.

"I'm sorry… But I have to kill you. You're hurting my Master… I want to make Edward happy again!" More bloody tears streamed down his face.

"How are we hurting—? You're not making any sense! Don't we make you happy, Edward?" Winry pushed away the teen with her other hand and rubbed her pink wrist.

"I wouldn't know… I don't see Edward's happy memories… all I see are the bad ones…" Edward cupped Winry's face with a bloody hand almost lovingly. "And some of them have you in them."

The hand on Winry slowly moved to her neck, leaving a trail of red on her soft skin. "I take that… as a reason to kill you."

Alphonse needed to stop him. He didn't care if his blood seal was vulnerable right now. What was important at the current moment was keeping Edward from doing anything bad to the life he had saved.

"Brother, stop it!" he lunged forward and ended up freezing on the spot when something shot out and hit him. He glanced down to see a small knife Edward had hidden behind him embedded dangerously close to the blood seal.

"I wouldn't do that…"

* * *

Edward slammed his fist against the wall, sounds of Al and Winry's voce ringing in his ears. _I have to stop him… I need to do it… I can't let him hurt anyone! I don't care if I have to stay here—as long as that crazy bastard is with me and not causing harm to Al or Winry, I don't care at all! _

Edward heard a loud cracking sound as he punched the wall again. He stole a look at it and a spark of hope ignited in his chest. A huge crack had spread on its surface. Light seeped through it, and a warm feeling emitted from it. _Maybe…just maybe._ Edward threw himself against the surface. He didn't care about the pain that shot up his body. If breaking this shit meant something at all, he'd gladly oblige.

He kept throwing his weary form against the cracked surface, calling out to Al and Winry hoping that they would be able to hear him.

_**What are you doing? Stop! You'll kill us both! Or maybe you'll do something worse! Please!**_

This was the first time Edward had heard such a frightened one in the child-like voice. Without knowing it, his eyes began to let tears stream down his pale face, and Edward stuck his fingers inside the crack. Using the little strength he had left in his ill form, he began pulling at it, hoping it would give out.

"LET ME OUT, DAMMIT!" Edward yelled out. Suddenly, a bright white light consumed him, and the dark space shattered, ash and blood-red rose petals flying everywhere.

* * *

It was written all over her face. There's no way she could have hidden the terror that raged inside of her. Nor later in her life, if she lived past this segment, would she ever dare deny it.

She doubted Alphonse would either. Even though he had no face to bear emotions, the fear coming from the very depths of the young boy's soul made her want to be able to do something to help him. But she couldn't.

_Before she could stop him, Edward's hand latched onto her ankle and twisted it in a way that was completely unnatural. Of course, the shock of it made her cry out and tears prick her eyes. Pushing her onto her back, Edward leaned over her, eyeing her trembling body. _

"_Shame… if only you'd hadn't caused my Master pain, then I'm sure I would have kept you as a toy…" He stroked her chin with soft, red tipped fingers and lifted her face so she would look at him._

"_Alas, I do have to kill you." His hand wandered to her hair, stroking it as well. Winry bit her lip hard enough to taste blood. She felt his had slowly wander to her neck—_

"_Brother, stop it!" Edward whipped his head towards the armor that had gotten out of his shock. His interest in Winry vanished, and he crawled away from the shaken teen. _

"_Brother? You must be mistaken. __**You are nothing to me.**__" Edward's voice dripped with venom as he lunged forward. Alphonse had enough sense to quickly dislodge the small knife embedded in his armor and swung out._

"_Tsk. Do you think you'd stop me, Alphonse?" Edward had easily caught the blade in his hand, and was squeezing it tightly. He pulled it right out of Al's hands and tossed it away. Ed saw the blood dripping from his freshly cut palm. Looking curious, he held it up to his face._

_The blood dripped down his arm slowly as he put on a sad face. "Oh… look what you went and did! Edward's going to be mad at me for letting you hurt him again…" Without hesitating, he licked the crimson liquid off his arm slowly, staring at Alphonse with dull eyes. _

_Ed wiped his chin as he saw Alphonse nodding towards Winry. HE turned towards the girl and smiled. She still had it in her to stand, huh? "What do you think you're doing? I'd stay down if I were you." Keeping his eyes on Winry, Edward stuck out his arm and let it hover over Al's blood seal. "Now, be a good little bitch and stay there."_

She hoped whatever Al was planning, that it would work. She'd done her part. Distraction. But still, the fear that she knew both she and Al felt was on the chance of failure. Winry could only hope for the best when Al swiftly drew a transmutation circle on the ground with a hidden piece of chalk as Ed watched Winry.

But as Edward's hand came near, Al hid his circle with his own hand, making it hover as well. He hoped he had the faster reflexes at this point.

Edward turned back to him. "You're first." The world moved in slow motion, and Al clearly saw his brother's hand inching forward. Not wasting a moment to think of a way to stop his brother, Al activated the transmutation circle he'd drawn.

Lightning flashed blue as the ground sprang forward, grabbing Edward by the neck and arm, dragging him to the center of the room, far away from Al and Winry. Winry let out a cry of relief as she thanked Al for being so prepared for once.

Edward hissed loudly as the ground wrapped around his torso and leg, tying him down to the ground. He looked Al with the little movement in his neck that was allowed.

"Damn pile of shit… you're crafty… just like Master Edward… there's so much of him in you… too bad you have only his naiveté, though… you're so full of it." A small laugh echoed.

"I hope Master won't get ma—!" Suddenly, Edward choked on his words. His blood-red eyes widened in what was clearly not a good thing—fear.

"You bastard! What the hell are you thinking?" Edward writhed against his binds, his blonde hair, which had somehow managed to stay in a ponytail, began to become damp with sweat.

Al helped Winry up, both of them watching the twisted version of Edward they had in their midst. Winry, out of fright, latched onto Alphonse's arm. She leaned against him for support, her knees feeling weak.

"Stop! Stop it!" Edward stopped yelling and tremor went through his body. Suddenly, he was spewing blood out of his mouth, coughing violently.

"Brother!" Al quickly set his brother free, but as soon as he did, Edward flopped to the ground, thrashing.

"What are you doing? Stop! You'll kill us both! Or maybe you'll do something worse! Please!" All at once Ed stopped moving. His body slowly began to shake as the bloody tears poured out of his eyes.

"Why are you doing this? I'm trying to save you… please…" he whispered softly, but the sound still echoed in the white-walled room. _Why… after all I've done for you… after all my efforts of trying to make you happy… why would you…?_In one final act of defeat, Edward arched his back, screaming until his voice died out:

"**MASTER!**"

* * *

**Heheheh, cliffy! Sorry I had to ^-^ well, next chapter will probably arrive in, say, 2 or 3 days? My STUPID Algebra teacher gave me and Abie 23 FRIGGIN pages of shit to do over break! IT HAS 96 PROBLEMS! I think she killed Abie! TT_TT LOOK!**

**Abe: *head on desk on top of huge stack drooling***

**Me: She…killed my genius TT_TT**

**Abe: *twitch***

**Me: I'm filing a report on murder! I NEED THIS GUYS BRAINS! SHE KEELED HIM!**

**Leave questions and chizz in review thingy, kkz? SEE YA!**

**Abe: … Nn…Gah…**

**Me: Oh poor Abie TT_TT! **

**Abe: Need… Boobies…**

**Me: CRAP! HE'S A FUCKING ZOMBIE! NOOOOOOO!**


	6. A Truth Revealed

**Hi Guys! I promised I'd write soon did I not? Heheheh I was so caught up in my other stories that I was gonna publish soon and I had to re-read this one so I could remember what the crap I've been doing. That's right, I wing it. This story has no plot—well at least it didn't until the 5****th**** chapter of TORTURED SOUL. Hahahaha but who gives a crap? So, here's my chiz!**

**Abe: HAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Me: Holy shit what?**

**Abe: I just watched SCARLET TAKES A TUMBLE on YouTube and nearly crapped ma-self XD it's so goddamn HILARIOUS!**

**Me: Let me guess…. Some fat bitch falls over?**

**Abe: How'd you know?**

**Me: You mean bastard, how could I not know? You're my best friend—**

**Abe: With benefits.**

**Me: And I've known you for 7 years, bitch. You laugh every time some fat ho trips and shit.**

**Abe: I know ^-^**

**Me: Aren't you ever, like, satisfied with just 1 fat girl falling a day?**

**Abe: * hugs from behind * When it comes to anything with girls… *whispers in ear* **_**I am never satisfied…**_

**Me: *gulp***

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**~A Truth Revealed~**

"You have to calm down! If you don't we won't be able to figure out the cause!" Winry shook at the strength in the Colonel's voice, and hugged her knees to her chest, loud, muffled sobs coming from the girl.

"I-I can't! I'm sorry! Sosososo sorry!" she cried harder, the sobs racking her body. She had never been so relieved or more frightened in her life. These two emotions made it hard to be calm, as much as she wanted to be.

Alphonse sat in the corner of the white room, staring at what was in the middle of the floor. He wanted to look away so badly, but he couldn't find the strength to do it. He felt as if he didn't have any strength left—as if he had been drained of his energy.

For once in the time he had been in this armor, he felt utterly exhausted.

He could hear Winry crying as the Colonel asked her what had happened. Al knew they weren't going to ask him. He'd probably wouldn't respond anyways. All he could do at the moment… was stare.

Al could only stare as they felt the wrist and neck of the thing lying on the floor. They shined a small flashlight in the glassy, golden eyes that stared at the ceiling. When they pronounced that he was still alive, Al didn't know if that was a good thing. Suddenly, he was horrified at what he had just been thinking. It was a thought that made him feel absolutely terrible. He stood up, armor clanking softly, and practically ran out of the room. He heard Winry calling for him to stop. He heard Riza as she tried to calm her down. He heard someone stumbling behind him—she could

"Al!" He stopped abruptly. His armor shook slightly, but she sees it. She hobbles forward, leaning against the wall and grabs his huge hand. Al hears her hand come in contact with his armor when a soft, hollow sounding noise made itself heard. He turned around.

"Al…why are you running off again?" Winry's voice was shaky, but it was gentle all the same. Her hair long, light blonde air had come out of the pony tail she had had it in, and Al noted that she looked tired. But he didn't want to talk to her right now… especially after what he was thinking.

"Al… what's wrong? Please, please tell me…" Al saw her eyes pretty blue eyes brimming with tears again. She didn't look scared anymore. Then Al knew why she was suddenly so sad.

_She thinks brother knew something was wrong with him. She thinks he didn't want to tell her. She knows she could have probably helped him anyway she could… but he still didn't tell her… Brother…why are you so stupid?_

Al didn't want to share his thoughts… but he didn't want to make her sad too… he saw that the Colonel was watching them, and it made him a little nervous.

"Not here… please…"

* * *

Roy ran a gloved hand through his black hair and sighed. _One misfortune at a time, right, Ed? _He closed the door that the other two had just run out of looked around the room. Scalpels of all sizes littered the room and blood was on the floor. It looked like a 5 year had gotten a paintbrush covered in red pain and dragged it around the room. It would take a while to clean it up. The doctor and 3 nurses where trying their best to wrap up the boy's stumps. They had, unfortunately, run out of supplies yesterday so they had to do with what they had at the time.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is the best—"

"Thank you. No get the hell out." Roy's tone was dangerous and the workers left gladly. They didn't like that room one bit because of the boy who was being treated in it. As soon as they left, Roy walked up to the bed.

"Sir—" The Lieutenant had begun to say something when he cut her off.

"Wait, will ya? I gotta check something…?" Roy looked at Edward whose eyes were still open and staring off to the distance, and slapped him across the face.

"Wake up, dammit!" Riza, shocked by the Colonel's actions, stepped forward but stopped when Edward twitched. Roy saw it too and began poking the boy's forehead. The red mark on Ed's face didn't fade, indicating that Roy had hit him hard.

"…yes…?" Roy was almost glad to have he boy speak to him, but the monotone voice coming from his mouth made him think otherwise.

"What the hell happened back there?" Roy searched Ed's unchanging face when after a moment, he answered.

"… I not know what you speak of…**Sir**…" The fact that Edward had actually called him 'Sir' without him asking or the usual sarcastic tone was unnerving. Roy didn't like it one bit.

"Come on, you **tiny** bastard, what the crap happened to you? Give me an explanation before I decide to burn off your fucking dick." Riza slowly began edging out of the room. She had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well, and she closed the door softly as she left.

"Obsesivi Bailes…" Roy blinked in confusion. What was that—Latin?

"Um…What…?"

"Latvian…Translation: Obsessive Fear…Formally known as just Obsesivi…" _What the hell is he saying?_ The vacant look on Edward's face never left. The boy just stared.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's… the 8th Sin… don't you know? Out of the regular 7… there are rare occurrences… when a Sin… is _**born from a human**_…" _Wait—how does he know this? That's high class information! Did he just figure it out or did he hear it somewhere?_

"What does that have to do with any of this?" Edward slowly turned towards him.

"Didn't you know?" The boy slowly lifted the blonde hair away from his neck with a shaky hand. Red tattoo that was there now sure as hell wasn't there before, and it stuck out like black on a white canvas. Roy felt that he wouldn't be able to say anything at all.

"...I am one…"

_A Sin, also known as a Homunculus, can be created in two ways. The first and most gruesome is a failed human transmutation. Homunculi can take form of the person that was trying to be resurrected and pose as that person to hide its existence and is capable of survival. The only way to tell the difference by mere glance is by its Ouroboros Tattoo. The second way is through a birth from a human. Although they are, in fact, homunculi, the tell-tale tattoo can only be seen at a certain time in its life and then remains permanent. The tattoo takes time to reveal itself after the final stage in its 'human' form. The Change usually happens after a tragedy and when the host is at their weakest both mentally and physically. This is such a rarity that only 1 of these cases appears almost every 15-20 years. All of these 'accidentally' born cases have been quarantined for the safety of the country. Their defenses vary in skill and amazingly dangerous bodies. For all homunculi, their specialties depend on the Sin. But, it is almost impossible for them to master one skill._

_Alchemy._

* * *

Ed felt like his head was going to explode. It hurt _so badly_. He opened his eyes—and yawned.

"This isn't the time to be sleeping, Master…" Ed sat up and looked around. As he came face to face with himself he yelped in surprise and fell onto his back…

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? POPPING UP ALL THE SUDDEN—MY HEART'LL GIVE OUT, YOU FUCKER!" Ed ranted. His twin didn't flinch.

"Edward, do you know what you just did?" Ed sat up slowly and looked at his twin blankly. _Um… no…?_

"Maybe…"

"You… you IDIOT! You just trapped both of us in here possibly for the rest of our lives! Now this body is stuck on Auto Pilot and we'll probably be killed since the Auto Pilot doesn't DO SHIT!" Quickly, it covered its mouth, red tears brimming in its eyes.

"Now people are going to hurt Master again… and Master will be sad…" it whispered, starting to rock back and forth.

Watching his duplicate act so weak made Ed feel like he was embarrassing himself. He just looked so… stupid.

"Well, at least if your crazy ass is in here and not doing crazy shit out there, then I'm as happy as can be." Ed looked around. Wherever he was, it looked just like a dark room, but with dim lights hanging from the ceiling. There wasn't anything he could do at this point—or at least he didn't think so. So he might as well…

"Name."

"Huh?" The doppelganger lifted its head from its fetal position and looked at Ed, red eyes glassy.

"What. Is. Your. Name. It's not like I'm gonna be having a conversation anytime soon that goes:

'Edward, what are you doing?'

'Oh, nothing. Why do you ask, Edward?' Because that'll get fucking annoying. And why do you call me 'Master'? It's hella weird… Also, WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE ME? It's friggin creepy, as you don't look…um… normal." His twin's sad face was replaced with a content smirk.

"I can fix that." Ed blinked and didn't get to see what happened next. But as soon as his eyes opened again, a boy with paper-white hair was looking back at him with a silly smile. The only thing that looked the same where the red eyes. This time, it had all its limbs and wasn't soaked in blood. It wore a plain button-up shirt and black shorts.

"Better? I do prefer this form, but I feel more at home when I look like you, Master." Ed blinked again. _Oookaay… what the hell's with that ACCENT?_

"Anyways, you are my Master, you rule the body. It's like a house—I live in it and you're the owner. So, whatever is in the house that belongs there is actually yours. As I am." Reaching up, he brushed the white bangs away from his face.

"I am Obsesivi."

* * *

"Winry… I-I feel so ashamed t-that I could think that… I feel like I b-betrayed Nii-san s-somehow and-and—!" Winry let the armor sob as she sat next to Al against the wall.

_For some reason… I-I thought it would be better… if Brother wasn't still alive…_

Winry hugged her knees and looked at the shaking armor. She was sure everyone had thought that today. She knew she did too, after what he had just done. But, it was only natural to think that when something scary happens.

"You didn't mean it, Al… if you meant it, you wouldn't feel like this. As long as you didn't mean it, I'm sure it's nothing to be upset about…" She assured him. But, Al still felt the guilt rage inside him.

Yet—he said nothing. He didn't stop her when she left to get rid of her bloodstained clothes. And he was left alone so his thoughts would meddle.

_She's right… nothing to worry about… but I still can't believe I would think that about Nii-san after all he's done for me… Even if he did try to kill us, I'm sure it was something else messing with him… he wouldn't do that—no, he'd NEVER do that…_

Al let out a long, frustrated sigh. _Brother… what ails you?_

* * *

"Dammit, why does it HURT?" Ed was laying face-down on the floor, complaining, while Obsesivi played with his golden hair. It creeped Edward out on so many levels, but he wasn't up to pushing his hands away as they braided and unbraided his hair.

"It's because you're starting to fade." _What the fuck?_

"Huh? Whadduya mean?" Obsesivi touched Edward's face, liking the feel of warm skin in the cold room. _Dude… you are creeping me the hell out…_

"Whenever neither of us is in control of the body, we start to fade. After a certain amount of time, you will fade, followed by me. After we both fade, the body will die."

"But, why do I have to 'fade' FIRST?" Edward could feel the depression of being stuck in here sink in. _One fucked up thing after another…_

"Because, you aren't used to the conditions I here, whilst I am, since I actually reside here in this pit of hell." The smile never left Obsesivi's lips, but Ed could tell from his voice that he wasn't happy at all.

"Is there any way for me to get the fuck out of here?" Ignoring the pain in his head, Ed continued to pry answers from him.

"Only with some outside help. That'll come eventually, but it depends on whether it comes in time…" Obsesivi pinched the skin on Ed's arm, receiving a growl in return.

"…or not." Edward, using his only arm, that had, thankfully, stopped bleeding, and he pushed himself into a kneeling position and pushed away Obsesivi's playful hands.

_So… either way, I'm screwed, huh? It all depends on time… all that crap is bullshit. I don't think anyone has an idea how the hell they might fix me._

Edward glared at Obsesivi, who hugged his arm and pouted at him. _But until then… I'm stuck here._

_With this creepy bastard…_

* * *

_Dammit! I don't know how, but that group Helios probably knew about Edward all along! _Roy banged his head repeatedly on his wooden desk, realizing how stupid he'd been not to think of other reason's why Helios might want Edward for.

And almost everything seemed to fall into place with the phone call he'd just received.

He had just been told that the reason Helios was connected to the homunculi was because they were collecting the ones who had 'potential'. And the reason they had that crazy bastard do shit to Edward was so they could force the homunculus that he really was out into the open.

They sped up his friggin process.

But the main reason why they wanted Ed to change so badly was because of his 'skill'. He could perform perfect alchemy. _And the incident from earlier on was the result of Ed changing into a homunculi and he had lashed out. Those bastards… what the hell were they planning?_

Roy had little time to sit around and abuse himself. Sat up and ignored the looks he got from Havoc and the others, barely noticing that they had videotaped him in his moment of utter stupidity, and grabbed the phone. There was not a moment to waste.

Helios was coming after Edward tomorrow.

* * *

**SHIT that was long! Heehee… not what you pplz expected huh? Yeah, I'm unpredictable like that. I just hope I don't scare you guys away—like I almost scared Abie away…**

**Abe: Seriously? WTF? **

**Me: I sowy, I sowy TT_TT It's part of ma plan!**

**Abe: How many FanFics have I read that Pipsqueak Edward becomes a homunculus? HOW MANY?**

**Me: I'M SCARED ABIE! Don't rape me!**

**Abe: Thx for the idea, love ^-**

**Me: AAAHHH! **

**Abe: *glomps***

**Next chapter in 2-3 days again! Don't hesitate to ask WTF I thinking, k? Bai Bai!**

**Me: …help me…!**

**Abe: heheheh… you know you like it! ^-^ EAT THE FUCKING COOKIE, BITCH!**

**Me: But it was in your—!**

**Abe: SHUDDAFUCKUP AN EAT IT!**


End file.
